A WOULD-BE MP says the nation should be proud of a North Yorkshire nature reserve run by volunteers.

Rishi Sunak, prospective parliamentary candidate for Richmond, for the Conservatives, said he cannot wait to bring his toddler daughters Krishna and Anoushka and wife, Akshata, to the Foxglove Covert nature reserve at Catterick Garrison – after seeing the 100 acre wildlife sanctuary for the first time yesterday.

He said: “Sites like these are very important for the role they play in the community. You just need to look at the number of visitors, especially from schools, to see how valuable Foxglove is."

The 34-year-old, who hopes to succeed William Hague as constituency MP following the General Election in May, described Foxglove Covert, the UK's first flagship nature reserve established by the Ministry of Defence, as "a gem".

Mr Sunak added: “This is somewhere we should be proud of; unique to the country.

"It is a fantastic achievement and just shows a great partnership between the local community, the Ministry of Defence and other stakeholders."

He added: “This is somewhere I am looking forward to telling people about – and look forward to bringing my wife and kids to see."

Mr Sunak was met at the reserve by Lord Zetland, Foxglove's patron.

Retired Major Tony Crease, Foxglove's treasurer, said: "It was great to see Rishi and Lord Zetland discussing birds, butterflies and flowers with so many of the regular volunteers.

"Foxglove Covert is a shining community project, the benefits of which are recognised by many of our prominent local residents.''